


Scattered Seeds

by Quietstar (AmpliSignal)



Category: Warrior Cats - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Don't copy to another site, Flashbacks, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mapleshade doesn't kill anyone, Myler gets odd chapters and Mapleshade gets even chapters, POV Alternating, angst with a happy ending (for sure this time), chapters will be tagged with trigger warnings where needed, characters tagged in order of appearance, the OCs are mostly kittypets and strays but there might be a few warrior OCs later, the ThunderClan Cloudberry is tagged but she stays in RiverClan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:15:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24263458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmpliSignal/pseuds/Quietstar
Summary: Life regrows after a storm.
Kudos: 17





	1. Deluge

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone.
> 
> Some of you might remember my previous fic, "Ill-Defined Border." After six months without an update, I've decided to officially put it on indefinite hiatus, as I feel I wrote myself into a corner and don't know how to properly resolve the story from the point that I reached. However, I have plenty more writing to do on the subject of Mapleshade's story, which is where this fic comes in.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy.

As the birds cawed their goodbyes for the evening, Myler realized he had accomplished nothing all day.

It was no different from any other day, really. He woke up, caught his first meal, wandered around the barn, caught his second meal, wandered around in the grove, caught his third meal, thought about his life… all that was left to go to sleep, then wake up and do it all again the next day. There was nothing tiring about this routine- he'd been doing it for seasons, after all- and yet his brain shriveled at the thought of doing it even once more.

Well, the half moon was only a few sunrises off. Larkwing would probably know something about this odd feeling, and be able to help him out- while the medicine cats all tolerated him to some extent, she was the one who seemed to like him most. Ravenwing was stiff-natured, more so than he would’ve expected from Oatspeckle’s apprentice (although Oatspeckle had only come by the barn once; maybe he wasn’t that jovial on the regular). Cloudpaw was kind enough, but she was still very much influenced by her home’s attitude towards cats that resided in former Twoleg nests- and Echosnout was prickly towards all of them, even her own apprentice.

The increasingly-loud tapping on the barn roof drew him out of his thoughts. He glanced outside, watching as rain began to fall on the grass. Pulling together a pile of hay, Myler settled onto it and stared out at the descending droplets, the noise like the gentle beat of a thousand hearts in unity. Letting out a long yawn, he laid his head on his paws and shut his eyes.

Twilight passed in drowned-out silence, giving way to night, and Myler felt himself drifting away-

-until a disturbance occurred at the edges of his perception, forcing his eyes open.

A high, echoing burst of sound reverberated through the night, in a tone Myler might have likened to a mourning wail- almost silenced by the rain, but not quite. Perhaps he was imagining things, or perhaps it was a typical rogue caterwauling their loneliness to the skies. In either case, it was none of his business.

Still, his eyes remained open, his ears swiveling towards where the sound had originated. If indeed it existed, it had come from the south… perhaps a Clan cat. Certainly, they frequently had reason to mourn, though many of them lacked the capacity. Their medicine cats aside, all there was to be found in those lands was pain and death.

He would not be finding sleep tonight, he suspected.

Heaving a sigh, Myler got to his paws and padded over to the barn door. Maybe he could at least get some exercise- it was better than lying around, doing nothing, letting his thoughts swirl into a hurricane. Halting at the edge of the door’s shadow, he peered out into the pouring rain. Perhaps on such a miserable night, he could get away with walking the border of the moors without being stopped, but then he’d be pelted by the full force of the storm.

...Never mind, he could spy a figure in the distance walking the border. It seemed there was a patrol after all, though maybe if he waited until they left, he could go on his walk. Or, of course, he could just circle the neighborhood and forget the moor.

As he watched their approach, though, it slowly dawned on him that their shambling, unsteady gait was nothing like that of a patrolling warrior. Furrowing his brows, he leaned out of the door’s cover to get a closer look, barely aware of the droplets pattering on his head. The figure stumbled, struggling to regain their footing in the soaked grass, before ultimately collapsing onto the ground.

His eyes widened, and he jogged out into the rain, this time willfully ignoring the discomfort of the rain seeping into his fur. As he approached the fallen creature, he could identify them as a cat- a young molly in fact, about his age. Blood dripped from three gashes on her face, that he would’ve guessed were inflicted by another cat’s claws. Her mouth curled in a grimace, her eyes screwed shut, as if permanently frozen in the moment that she had been struck.

“Hey,” Myler uttered, gently nudging her with one paw. Her face didn’t change, nor did she make any movement- the only sign that she was alive was the subtle rise and fall of her flanks with uneven breaths. To come so far out here, only to fall unconscious… what was she even doing out here? She wouldn’t survive much longer if left in this sodden weather.

Leaning down, Myler gripped her scruff in his jaws and dragged her towards the barn, heaving her along in short bursts while only occasionally stopping to catch his breath. As fearsome a reputation as most Clan cats liked to uphold, at least most of them weren’t this large- the molly had to be twice, maybe even three times his size.

Finally managing to haul her into the shade of the barn, Myler let go of her scruff and staggered back, letting his muscles and lungs recover from the sudden strain. The stranger was out of the cold… now what? Thoughts raced through his head- she would need water, food, some sort of medicine, some sort of warmth, and all of that was assuming that she didn’t drop dead out of nowhere. Larkwing had mentioned that that tended to happen after suffering injuries and not receiving adequate care. Maybe he ought to take her to another cat’s housefolk, so that the vet could look at her, but he’d heard stories of strays being taken to the vet and never coming back-

-no, that wasn’t helpful right now. He had to pick a task and do it. He could get her warm right now, and it would probably help her to not suddenly die. Turning to the fallen beam, he ascended up into the rafters, then made his way over to the blue blanket he kept around for emergencies. Then, descending into the hay below, he lay the blanket over the molly, making sure to cover as much of her as possible.

Next she would need water, most likely, followed by food and medicine. He wasn’t sure which herbs he’d have to use, but he at least remembered something about cobwebs helping to heal cuts. He couldn’t make her drink, however, if she wasn’t awake- so he’d have to wake her up. That was alright, he could do that.

Lowering himself onto the ground beside the molly, he gently nudged her shoulder with his paw. “I need you to wake up,” he murmured, twitching his soaked ears. When her ears twitched in turn, he retreated to give her space.

Her face seemed to relax- only to then twist further, her muscles tensing. A soft whine escaped her maw as she shuddered, her claws extending and gripping the hay tightly. She uttered something that Myler couldn’t quite make out, lashing her tail. Shivers wracked her entire body, her breaths coming out in uneven gasps.

Her eyes snapped open.

She screeched, jumping to her feet and entering what Myler assumed was a defensive stance. Her yellow eyes landed squarely on him, a storm of wild panic and rage whirling within. Before Myler could say anything, she bared her teeth and demanded, _“Who are you?”_

He hesitated for a heartbeat, taken slightly aback by the molly’s display of emotion. “...I am Myler,” he said finally, blinking. “I saw you out there on the moors, so I brought you in.” Looking down at the fallen blanket, then back at her, he added, “Don’t worry. I can take care of you.”

The molly stared at him, working her jaw, then shook her head. “I don’t need help from a _kittypet,_ ” she spat, her fur bristling as much as it could in its drenched condition. “I am a _warrior,_ and I follow the code-” Her words cut off, her eyes slowly widening, her paws twitching in an emotion Myler couldn’t quite read. Perhaps fear, perhaps wounded pride, none of which a Clan cat- as he presumed she was- would like to admit.

“...The code that they _betrayed!_ ” she howled, whipping around and slicing the hay with her claws. Breathing heavily, she scored her claws against it again. “They _never_ cared about the code! All they wanted was to make us _suffer_!” She punctuated her screech with another slash, pieces of straw fluttering into the air from the sudden impact.

Her rage seemingly spent, she staggered forward and fell onto the shredded hay, her entire body shaking. Myler cautiously took a step closer to her. “Please, you’ve been injured,” he said, his ears flattening back. “And nearly caught your death of cold, too. You need food, water, medicine, and rest- and I can help with that.” Well, somewhat. He could hold her off until the half moon, at least.

The molly turned her head, fixing him with a bitter glare. “I can’t rest until justice is served.”

Furrowing his brows, Myler said, “You’re tired and hurt. I don’t think you could serve much justice in your state.”

Her eyes wandered to the barn wall, fixing on a grain of wood that appeared no more interesting to Myler than any of the other grains of wood. “...I don’t deserve to rest,” she said quietly, her voice hoarse. “Not after what I’ve done.”

Myler glanced down at his paws, deep in thought. “If you were really so horrible, I would know who you are,” he said, lifting his head. That made sense, he thought. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard the name…” It then occurred to him that he didn’t remember her name. Twitching his whiskers sheepishly, he asked, “I’m sorry, I forgot your name?”

The molly turned her head, meeting his gaze with a raised brow and a befuddled look in her eyes. Her mouth twitched as if formulating words, but none came out for a few moments. “...Mapleshade,” she said finally, her ears swiveling to the sides.

“Ah, yes- I apologize for forgetting, I’m terrible with names. But I was right, I’ve never heard of you before,” Myler confirmed, with a nod. “If you had done anything so bad that you didn’t deserve to sleep anymore, I would have heard about it from someone.” Taking the blanket and offering it to her, he said through a mouthful of itchy fabric, “Now please, let me help you.”

Mapleshade stared back at him, her eyes occasionally flickering to the blanket. “...What is that thing?” she asked, twitching her tail.

“It’s a blanket.” Myler set it down in front of her. “It’ll keep you warm.” Hopefully the itchiness wouldn’t bother her like it usually did for him. If she was in fact a warrior, she was probably used to sleeping on much coarser material.

Looking down at the blanket with narrowed eyes, Mapleshade did not move to pick it up. Myler watched her paws for a few moments in silence, wondering if she would accept or reject the blanket. When the quiet grew too heavy to stand, he said, “I can go get you some water. And mice are pretty easy to catch here.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and hurried out into the rain again, circling around to the back of the barn. He walked into the grove, singling out the mossiest of the elm trees and striding towards it. Shearing off some moss with his claws, he confirmed that it was already wet with rain water, then took it back to the barn. Something to quench thirst would lift Mapleshade’s spirits, he was sure.

Entering the doorway, he found Mapleshade sitting in the same place, her eyes watching him warily. The blanket was still in front of her, untouched. Walking over to her, he set down the wet moss by her paws. “Why don’t you drink, while I find some dinner,” he said, with a small nod.

Mapleshade slowly lowered her head to the moss, then lapped at it with her tongue. A small smile formed on Myler’s face as he turned and crept further into the barn, keeping his stance low to the ground. She was accepting help- that was progress. Swiveling his ears, he swept his gaze over the hay, seeking movement with every tiny twitch of his whiskers.

 _There,_ sniffing into the underside of a bale, crouched a mouse. Positioning himself, Myler tensed, then pounced- swatting the mouse out into the open with one blow. The mouse let out a loud squeak and struggled to crawl away, but Myler struck again with a heavy blow to its neck, and it fell dead where it stood.

Satisfied at his clean kill, he picked up the mouse and carried it over to Mapleshade. Setting it down, he grinned. “Most of the time it takes me three or four strikes to kill it- I guess I got lucky this time,” he remarked.

Mapleshade lifted her head from the moss and stared up at him, narrowing her eyes. Myler stared back, not letting his smile slip. Finally, she took the mouse and tore a leg off with her teeth. The food would help for sure, Myler figured. He usually felt better after eating.

Letting the bones from the stripped-bare leg fall into the hay, Mapleshade lowered her head onto her paws and shut her eyes. Myler walked to the fallen beam and went up into the rafters, then went over to the dustiest corner he could see. Checking the webs caught between the ceiling and walls for spiders and finding none, he wrapped some of the webs around his paw and descended back to ground level.

“Cobwebs are for cuts, correct?” he asked softly, approaching Mapleshade. If she got in as many fights as the other Clan cats, she’d probably know for sure if he was correct.

“Yes,” Mapleshade replied, not opening her eyes.

Myler twitched his whiskers in satisfaction. “The, er, medicine cats should be passing through here in the next couple of days,” he said, gently pressing some cobwebs against the cuts. As Mapleshade let out a hiss, he lightened the pressure, but didn’t move away. “I think it’d be best for them to examine the cuts. Just to make sure they aren’t infected. There's some herbs out here, that they can use if they need to.”

Mapleshade curled her lip. “They’re not going to waste time on a kittypet.”

Forcing a chuckle, Myler shook his head. “They’re willing to talk to me, sometimes.” He cautiously spread more cobwebs over Mapleshade’s face. “They’ll even eat the mice I catch on occasion.” Smiling wider, he concluded, “And I’m much more of a kittypet than you. So you’ll be fine.”

“...I don’t want to talk to them,” Mapleshade said, opening her eyes slightly. “I’ll take my chances with infection.”

Not wanting to talk to the medicine cats, easily the most reasonable of the Clan cats… what had happened to her? “Well, surely they can’t all be that bad, there’s _five_ of them,” Myler replied, raising a brow. “Or, well, four of them that come by here. I could always just ask one to come in and make the others stay outside?”

Gritting her teeth, Mapleshade inhaled deeply, then exhaled in a sigh that Myler would have thought exaggerated were it not for the circumstances. “If you insist on bringing one in,” she muttered, “then I guess... Larkwing will do. Or whoever the WindClan medicine cat is now.”

Another small victory. Smiling, Myler said, “Of course. It’ll just be Larkwing, then.”

Mapleshade stared at him, as if he had the remnants of a meal left over on his face. Licking his lips to make sure there wasn’t, Myler settled into a lying position and laid his head on his paws. “You’d best get some sleep,” he said, twitching his whiskers. “You’ll feel better in the morning.”

Looking down at the rest of the mouse, then back at him, Mapleshade asked, “...Aren’t you going to eat?”

Myler furrowed his brows. “Did I not?” he mumbled half to himself, looking at the mouse again. No, all that had been eaten was the leg that Mapleshade had taken. Ripping off another leg for himself, Myler chewed on it quietly, his thoughts retracing their steps through the conversation. He’d given Mapleshade dinner and some treatment, Mapleshade had agreed to let Larkwing look at her… she’d introduced herself the second time… had he introduced himself at all?

“...My name’s Myler, by the way,” he said after finishing the mouse leg, burying the bones beneath the hay.

Mapleshade offered no response, her eyes fixed on the blanket. Finally, she let out a low huff and took it in her front paws, then rolled over onto her side so that her back was facing Myler. Curling around the blanket like it was a hoard of freshkill, she muttered, “Good night.”

Myler felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. She was an odd bedfellow, for sure, but he was sure they were going to get along perfectly. Resting his head on his paws and shutting his eyes, he replied softly, “Good night.”


	2. Flash Flood

Three sunsets had passed before she had finally been able to get a full night’s rest, the exhaustion in her body overpowering any visions she would have received.

Even so, Mapleshade awoke feeling ill at ease, her eyes flitting back and forth across the piles of hay surrounding her. Her bones still ached, if slightly less than they had the night before. She couldn’t force herself to get up with the little energy she had, at least not yet.

Still, at least the grass outside was lit only by moonlight. It must have been early in the morning.

With a heavy sigh, Mapleshade rolled onto her other side to face the wall, and curled up in a slightly more comfortable position- the “blanket” that Myler had offered to her still bundled up in her paws. Maybe she wouldn’t return to sleep’s embrace before the day began, but she could at least rest a little longer. This would be the day that the medicine cats came by, and she preferred to look as dissimilar to a sleep-deprived shrew as possible.

_It’ll just be Larkwing,_ Myler had told her… four nights ago? Yes, it had been the night he first found her that they had that conversation, about treatment. Mapleshade wasn’t particularly fond of any of her options, but of the four medicine cats that usually came by the barn according to Myler, Larkwing was easily the one that caused her the least discomfort to think about. If she had to have her wounds treated, it was better to consult an elderly WindClanner than any of the other three.

Still, she wasn’t going to look weak in front of a Clan cat.

Her ears twitched as she heard rustling in the hay behind her, growing softer and further away. It was unusual for Myler to already be awake, but the weighty pawsteps sounded like his. Maybe he wanted to keep an eye out for Larkwing, or maybe he was just going for a walk. She still couldn’t understand him- half the time he lazed about like an elder in greenleaf, but the other half of the time he couldn’t seem to get _enough_ exercise, pacing and bounding about even while carrying on a conversation.

She thought she heard his voice calling out across the breeze, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying. “All in your head,” she mumbled to herself, her ears flattening back. After the… strange conversation that they’d had when he first found her, the questions and answers and introductions and hellos twisting like the scorching air in late greenleaf, she knew better than to rely on her senses.

She was on the verge of falling back asleep, her eyelids weighed down as if by stones, when she overheard rustling in the hay again. “Sorry, Mapleshade,” Myler spoke, his voice growing closer. “I saw one of the medicine cats out there, so I asked him where Larkwing was- I didn’t tell him you were here, I was very discreet- but... he didn’t seem very interested in talking to me.”

Rolling onto her front, Mapleshade stood and turned her head towards him- and froze.

Ravenwing’s scent wafted into her nose, and all at once, the memories flooded back in.

_“They are half-RiverClan.”_

_His eyes met hers, spite burning in their cold depths._

_Gashes, torn in her face, dripping blood onto her paws. Fury, betrayal, hatred, swirling in Frecklewish’s gaze. Her fangs glistened with venom, spitting poison onto-_

_Her poor kits, horrified, clinging to her._

_“Half-Clan creatures,” Frecklewish screamed-_

_“Ashamed,” Bloomheart declared-_

_“Danger,” Oakstar roared. Words overlapping like ripples of water, lapping at her paws, rising, rising-_

_“HELP US!” screeched the kits, swept far, far away from her reach even as she helplessly stretched out her paws. Appledusk, bearing down on her, powerful even as she was powerless._

_“You killed them.” His expression, unreadable. Smug that he had come out of this unscathed? Bitter that she had not drowned with them? She genuinely could not understand him anymore, his words even less meaningful than Twoleg babble._

_“You’ve caused enough trouble tonight.” She whipped her head around, screaming out in incomprehensible pleas. Meaningless. “Get out before we make you.” They would not understand. She_ could not _understand. “You don’t deserve to be called a warrior. Ashamed of you. Never want to see you again. Don’t expect forgiveness.”_

_“YOU PROMISED,” she heard her kits howl, their claws tugging at her pelt, dragging her down, down, down-_

_“No!”_ Mapleshade wailed, her claws scrabbling for purchase in the- hay, not water. Solid ground.

She was not in the river.

There were cats there. Myler, terror and guilt etched into his face, was not the only one there. Mapleshade could just barely recall the form of Larkwing in the black and white molly standing before her, nudging an herb towards her. “Eat this,” Larkwing murmured, her brows furrowed.

Lacking the wherewithal to question the order, Mapleshade lowered her head and nibbled at the sprig of herb. Her entire body trembled, a dull pain settling into her frame. The corners of her vision were still dark, but she could make out other figures beside Larkwing and Myler, her eyes flickering between them and the herb.

“I’m sorry I had to go back on my word,” Myler said softly, his ears pinned back. “But you were shaking really badly and weren’t responding… so I had to get as much help as possible.”

“...Who?” Mapleshade rasped, trying to focus her gaze on the cats at Myler’s side. She could count two- another black-and-white molly, and a smaller, fluffier white molly. No black tom, at least not that she could see.

“I’m Cloudberry,” said the smaller one, offering a smile. Twitching her tail towards the taller one, she added, “And this is my mentor Echosnout.” Echosnout twitched her whiskers, but said nothing. Cloudberry took a small step forward, tilting her head. “Have you been sleeping poorly?”

In any other situation, Mapleshade would have snorted. As it was, she could only muster a small nod. _Pitiful._ _And right in front of the RiverClanners, too._ An indignant snarl intended for Myler festered in her throat, but she let it rot away there rather than aiming it at him.

“Confusion, lack of sleep, and fits of panic, following a traumatic experience,” Cloudberry said to Echosnout, with all the cheeriness of a freshly-named medicine cat. “It’s a clear case of emotional shock. With some thyme, food, proper rest, and calm reassurance, she should recover quickly.”

“You’re not an apprentice anymore, Cloudberry,” Echosnout replied dryly. “Instead of lecturing, you’re free to just carry out the proper treatment.”

With a sheepish smile, Cloudberry turned to Myler. “Could you go find something for her to eat, while we monitor her?”

As Myler nodded and hurried away, Mapleshade lowered her head and covered her face with her paws, her thoughts swirling in her head. Soon enough, he was going to ask Cloudberry what she meant by _“a traumatic experience,”_ and she was going to tell him exactly what Appledusk had told RiverClan, and then he was going to turn his back on Mapleshade just like every other cat up until now. She should’ve known this would happen. She should’ve known it could never be so simple.

She heard Larkwing’s voice overhead, repeating some sort of phrase, and looked up.

“I need to look at the cuts on your face, alright?” Larkwing asked, her ears swiveling back. “Myler told me he didn’t put anything on them except cobwebs. I want to be sure they aren’t infected.”

Fading back into view, Echosnout placed a cluster of yellow flowers down beside Larkwing. “I found some marigold in the grove. I’ll be taking whatever we don’t use back to RiverClan.”

Closing her eyes, Mapleshade remained silent as Larkwing removed the cobwebs from her face. “Thank you, Echosnout, Cloudberry,” she overheard Larkwing say, right before something cold was applied to the cuts- stinging slightly. “You’ll need to apply some marigold to the cuts every time you change your cobwebs, Mapleshade, until it’s healed. I do smell some infection, but you should recover if you treat it properly.”

“I caught a mouse,” Myler announced through a mouthful of fur- Mapleshade felt his pelt brush past hers as he set the mouse down in front of her. “Is there anything else I can get for her?”

“...Water,” Mapleshade answered after a moment, tasting the dryness on her tongue. If she could just drink, maybe things would make more sense. Wandering while delirious was a death sentence.

The sound of heavy footfalls, leading outside, was… almost comforting. He hadn’t asked.

As the sticky cobwebs were pressed against her face, she heard Echosnout comment, “I told Aspentail we’d be back to check up on her before sunhigh. We should be leaving.”

“You go, I’ll take care of this,” Larkwing said, in such a way that Mapleshade could _hear_ her gentle smile. “Thank you two for the help. And Cloudberry- may StarClan light your path.”

“Thank you,” Cloudberry replied. “May StarClan light yours, too.”

Mapleshade opened her eyes just in time to catch Cloudberry’s glance at her, before the two RiverClanners turned and left the barn. The moment had passed too quickly for her to make any sense of the look in Cloudberry’s eyes. Larkwing watched after them as well, her ears perked.

“I’m back,” came Myler’s voice again, as he stopped next to Mapleshade. Turning to look at him, then at the wet moss as he put it down next to the mouse, Mapleshade twitched her ears. _If you weren’t a kittypet before this… you definitely are now, having everything given to you like this._

Ignoring the mocking tone of that thought, she lowered her head to drink from the moss slowly- relishing in having her need for water met, but not wanting to remind herself of… that.

“So… what did Cloudberry mean by ‘traumatic experience?’”

Mapleshade nearly choked, coughing out the last of the water before it could sneak into her lungs. A paw, small but weighty, gently thumped at her upper back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to- to startle you,” Myler said softly, remorse seeping back into his voice. “You don’t have to tell me. I just thought I might… be able to help you.”

Staring at the mouse, her eyes glazing over, Mapleshade didn’t respond. She had a choice to make. The last time she’d made a choice, it had gone _horribly_ wrong. Lives were on the line with every word she said, everything she did, even the most inconsequential. The thought loomed over her like a wild dog, drool dripping from its fangs, ready to strike but savoring her terror nonetheless.

“It’s alright, Mapleshade,” she heard, from somewhere out of reach. “You’ve been through a lot in a short time. You don’t have to tell him about it if you’re not ready.” She turned her head, feeling the painful twist in her neck as she did so- facing Larkwing with a blank gaze. _I’m not ready._

She opened her mouth, the words slowly dripping out.

“...How much do you know?”

Larkwing furrowed her brows in concern. “Echosnout brought it up at the half-moon meeting,” she answered, her ears flattening back. “And then Ravenwing told us everything- well, except for what happened with RiverClan. Echosnout filled us in about that.”

Mapleshade couldn’t hide the slight shake in her paws at this revelation. So all of this had become _gossip_? Her teeth clenched. What did all of this _mean?_ None of this made any sense- the medicine cats knew what had happened, and yet they weren’t shunning her.

“Why are you helping me?” she asked, her eyes narrowing. “You know… you know everything. So why waste your time on _me?_ ” Some ulterior motive, _any_ ulterior motive, would be enough. It didn’t have to be a selfless reason- in fact, she preferred if it wasn’t. Selflessness, loyalty, love, those could run out at any time. Any reason she could _predict_ would put her mind at ease. She just needed to _understand_.

Shaking her head, Larkwing answered, “Because I think ThunderClan and RiverClan were wrong.”

Staring back at her, Mapleshade worked her jaw, trying desperately to come up with the proper words. _Why? Wasn’t this StarClan’s doing? Why should I trust that you won’t change your mind? Is this all some kind of twisted joke? Are you waiting for me to say the wrong thing, so you can trap me?_

“...Well, thank you, Larkwing,” said Myler in the midst of the silence, walking up to Larkwing’s side and offering her a nod. “You’re welcome to take any herbs back to WindClan that you might find useful. I think Mapleshade just needs-”

Pain and guilt clawed at her heart, quickly growing too much to bear. _“No,”_ Mapleshade uttered, forcing herself to stand up unsteadily. “I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you _everything_.” This bridge was going to burn down someday, whether she liked it or not. She might as well do it herself.

“Mapleshade,” Larkwing warned, lifting a paw. “Please, sit down. I’m worried you might-”

“I’ll have to leave after this anyway,” Mapleshade interrupted, the swirling feeling rising into her head again. “I might as well get used to- to walking.”

“No, you won’t,” Myler said, taking a few steps closer to her- concern and something almost like fear in his eyes. “Please don’t strain yourself. You _don’t_ have to tell me. I _mean_ it.”

Staring into his eyes, barely able to focus with the nausea clouding her mind, Mapleshade searched intently for any sign of deceit. He could be lying. He could be waiting to confront her alone, when Larkwing wasn’t there to speak up for her. He could suddenly decide she wasn’t worth keeping around.

Yet all she found was… disarming sincerity.

Stumbling back, she shook her head. “I _have_ to tell you.”

Myler furrowed his brows. “Please… listen.” Glancing at Larkwing, then back at her, he said, “If Larkwing knows what happened and is still willing to treat you, then that’s all I need to know. I _promise_ you that-”

“What good is a _promise?_ ” Mapleshade snapped, her claws sinking into the hay. “Promises, codes, it’s all meaningless. Cats break their word whenever they _feel_ like it!”

“I broke my word because I was trying to _help_ you!” Myler insisted, his ears pinned to his skull. “I was _worried_ about you- and I still am.” After a few moments of Mapleshade staring at him speechlessly, he continued, “I’m sorry. I really meant for it to just be Larkwing here. But… for all I knew, you could’ve been going into the _deadly_ kind of shock. Keeping that promise wasn’t worth risking your life.”

Still unable to find words, Mapleshade couldn’t muster up the rage to retort. Why couldn’t she see any sign of perjury? Why couldn’t they just get this over with?

His anger seemingly melting away, Myler lowered his head, but kept his eyes on Mapleshade’s. “Whatever you did, it wasn’t bad enough to convince Larkwing not to treat you. So it’s not bad enough to convince me to make you leave.”

Mapleshade gazed back at him. How much could he see in her eyes? Could he see everything she was feeling?

“...I would like to talk to you,” Larkwing said quietly, twitching her ears. “But we can do it in private, if you’d prefer.” When Mapleshade turned her head slightly, focusing in on her, Larkwing added, “Have some water and food first, though. You need to be keeping your strength up.”

Next to her, Myler nodded. “I’ll leave you two alone. I can go for a walk out in the neighborhood.”

Mapleshade leaned down and drank a little bit more from the moss. Once her throat was no longer parched, she then turned to the mouse and gnawed on its side. She could hear Myler’s pawsteps headed out of the barn, steadily getting further away.

“I do have to get back to WindClan soon,” Larkwing said after a few moments. “Luckily, it’s not a long journey, but…” With a wry chuckle, she shifted her gaze to her back leg, tensing it. “I’m not as young as I used to be.”

Mapleshade felt her ears swivel back. Furrowing her brows, she asked, “Why did the three of you decide to help me, really? I… I can handle the truth.”

Larkwing sat down, curling her tail around her paws. “Well… for me, at least, it wasn’t much trouble. You aren’t far out of the way from my original path.” Turning to glance out the door, she mused, “I can’t speak for the RiverClanners.” Mapleshade looked out the door as well, setting her jaw.

“I wanted to tell you,” Larkwing continued, “that in the past, I’ve seen even the wisest of Clan cats mistakenly think their actions were approved by StarClan.” When Mapleshade turned to face her, she dipped her head. “I... am guilty of the same. I made a terrible decision once, taking the clear skies that night to mean that it was StarClan’s will… and it has haunted me ever since.”

Larkwing’s words circled her mind, and yet failed to sink in, halted by exhaustion. “...I don’t understand,” Mapleshade mumbled, shutting her eyes and letting her head hang low. “I can’t… it’s all so much. I don’t know who to- who to blame.”

She felt the tip of Larkwing’s tail touch her shoulder. “Don’t worry about assigning blame,” Larkwing urged her. “Tempting as it might be, it’s only going to make it harder for you to recover from this-”

“What is there to _recover?”_ Mapleshade demanded, unable to hide the bitterness in her voice. Lifting her head and fixing a glare on Larkwing, she hissed, “I lost my kits, I lost my family, I lost my mate, I lost my home- and I’m not going to get _any of it_ back no matter what I do!”

“You have your life.” A resolve settled in Larkwing’s eyes as she met Mapleshade’s gaze. “I know it may not feel like that’s worth much right now, after everything you’ve gone through. But you’re alive. You _can_ get better.”

Sinking into the hay and burying her face in her paws, Mapleshade was silent for some time. She was alive for now, that was true, but… that wasn’t at all comforting at the moment. She _shouldn’t_ have been the one to survive- it wasn’t right, for her to be alive while her kits were not.

“...What’s the point,” she said finally, internally disturbed at the flat tone in her voice. “What right do I have to… to get better?”

Sitting down at her side, Larkwing hummed softly in acknowledgement. “StarClan has allowed me to continue as a medicine cat, despite my mistakes,” she answered, exhaustion seeping from her words. “If they can go so far as to forgive me, then surely they couldn’t spite you just for living.”

_What could she_ possibly _have done?_ Mapleshade had never heard Larkwing’s name come up in the elders’ stories; if the medicine cat had done something as horrible as she was implying, surely Mapleshade would know what she was talking about. Anything comparable to what had happened in the past few moons, committed by a cat of that age, would be a rich source of inter-Clan gossip.

Shutting her eyes, Mapleshade shook her head. “I… I wish…” she murmured, her voice trailing off. “I wish that…” Her words had run dry, leaving scorched soil behind. Trying to think of more and coming up empty-pawed, she heaved a sigh.

“You need some sleep, I think.” Larkwing’s tail flicked across Mapleshade’s ear. “I’ll be back at the next half-moon, but we can wait for Myler to return before I leave.”

_Don’t leave,_ part of her wanted to say, even as the other part echoed, _Don’t bother._ Stuffing the desperation and arrogance into the back of her mind, Mapleshade finally replied, “...Okay. I’ll be alright until then.”

Her efforts at reassurance went unchallenged, even as the heartbeats stretched into seasons. It occurred to her that lying here, in the hay, was… rather comfortable. Perhaps it had to do with her exhaustion, or perhaps it had to do with the fragility of it all. _Easy to treasure what’s easy to lose,_ a far-off memory grumbled into her ears.

The sound of paws crunching through hay caught her attention, and she lifted her head. Myler came to a halt a few tail-lengths away, his eyes still concerned in that maddening sort of way. “Do you need Larkwing to stay?” he asked, twitching his ears. “Because I can-”

“I’ll be fine,” Mapleshade interrupted with a huff. _She can’t stay anyway- she undoubtedly has real warriors to treat, like Echosnout and Cloudberry did._ Looking over at Larkwing, she added, “Go on back to WindClan. I’ll see you in a moon.”

Larkwing dipped her head. “Of course.” To Myler, she said, “I’ll see you then, as well.”

“Wait,” Myler said, turning around and running back outside. A few moments later, he came back with various herbs bundled in his jaws. Setting them in front of Larkwing, he added, “Please, take this as my thanks. You’ll find it useful, I hope.”

With a smile, Larkwing replied, “Thank you, Myler. Let me know if you need anything else.” Taking the herbs in her jaws, she nodded, then turned and walked out the barn door. Mapleshade watched her leave, until she was little more than a speck on the horizon.

“She told you you need sleep, right?” Myler said, after Larkwing disappeared from view. “I’ll try to keep things quiet for you. I can-”

“I just… don’t know if I’ll be able to.” Mapleshade lowered her head onto her paws once more. “Not until I’ve… not until I’ve figured this out. Not until-”

“Well, maybe you don’t need to figure it out.” With a gentle flick of his tail, he lowered himself to the ground in front of her. “You know what usually helps me? Getting out of doors, exploring, meeting new faces.” A small smile graced his face. “There’s some cats around the neighborhood that I’m sure would love to meet you.”

Mapleshade decided not to ask him what a neighborhood was- given his nature, she could guess it was a place where kittypets lived. She could think of nothing she wanted less than to meet new cats, especially kittypets, but… if in fact it helped Myler, maybe it would grant her some small relief. As boring as kittypets and their ilk may have been, thinking about them was much more likely to put her to sleep than anything else that consumed her thoughts these days. “...Sure,” she said finally, slowly getting to her feet. “But the moment one of them tries to introduce me to their Twolegs, I’m out.”

His smile widened into a full-on grin. “Their housefolk have probably left by now,” he assured her, turning and prancing towards the door. “Even if not, they’ve never tried to introduce _me_.”

Wearily, Mapleshade followed after him. He didn’t seem like he planned on forcing her to do anything; so long as she could return to the barn at any time, this would probably be a tolerable excursion. She probably wouldn’t be able to scare any of them for her own amusement, in her state, but… at the very least, they would be gullible. Maybe she could tell them some sort of wildly exaggerated tale just to watch them gawk.

As she stepped outside of the barn’s shadow, she turned her head to glance back. _Is all of this worth it?_ Maybe it would be better to stay. If she ever had to disappear, it would be easier and safer if she didn’t get attached to anyone, just to avoid falling for-

“Mapleshade?”

She exhaled, softly, slowly, through her nose. “Coming,” she said, turning away from the barn and looking Myler in the eyes. As he smiled and bounded towards the “neighborhood,” she hesitated a moment longer.

_They can’t spite you just for living._

Larkwing’s words echoing in her mind, Mapleshade let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, and padded after Myler into the unknown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am the picture of punctuality, as it turns out.
> 
> All jokes aside, I do think future updates won't take this long to come out; this chapter by itself was mostly hard due to having to work out how I wanted to portray Echosnout, Cloudberry, and Larkwing, as well as figuring out whether Myler should find out what happened with ThunderClan right away or not. Now that I've mostly figured out what direction I want this fic to go in, everything else should follow relatively quickly.
> 
> In any case, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.


	3. Sunlight

Despite the stressful start to the day, Myler could at least appreciate what had gone well. The two of them now had specific instructions on how to treat Mapleshade’s face; she had been able to speak to Larkwing about matters that a medicine cat would know much more about than he did; and she was, conditionally, feeling up to talking to more cats.

The sidewalk already felt warm under his paws as he trotted into the neighborhood, heated by the morning sun’s rays. Ahead, he could spy two cats crawling out from underneath a hole in the fence, one of them grumbling complaints in an ever-familiar drawl. “Slow going?” he called out, twitching his ears.

The two of them turned their heads towards him. “The housefolk have been trying to fix the hole,” Rick replied, with an amused grin. “And Tess isn’t as young as she used to be.”

“You say that like you aren’t a few months older,” Tess remarked dryly, reaching for the cracks in the sidewalk and digging her claws in to pull herself the rest of the way out. Once she was free, she stood up and gave her shoulders a quick lick to remove the paint flakes. Shaking her head, she added, “How are you, Myler? And who’s this you’ve got with you?”

With a smile, Myler glanced over his shoulder at Mapleshade, who stared back at him with furrowed brows. Flicking his tail, he said, “I’m well, thank you. Er, Mapleshade- these are Rick and Tess. The blue smoke is Rick, the cinnamon smoke is Tess.” Turning back to the other two, he added, “Rick, Tess, this is Mapleshade. She’s staying at the barn with me.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Rick said, his grin widening and his ears twitching. “Say, ‘Mapleshade’ sounds like a name one of those Clan cats would have. I’ll bet there’s a real interesting story there.”

Tess glanced at her and gave her a small smile. “Oh, Rick’s just curious- he assumes _everyone_ has an interesting life story,” she reassured her, with a flick of her tail. “You don’t have to explain your name right now, unless you-”

“Actually, there _is_ a story there,” Mapleshade interrupted after a moment. Swishing her tail, she added without missing a beat, “I’m descended from big cats- my grandmother was one. I got my name because a couple Clan cats mistook my shadow for a tiger’s and ran off in fear.”

Rick and Tess stared for a moment, before bursting into laughter- Tess’ more amused, Rick’s more amazed. “Well, well, we have a genuine wild cat on our paws!” Rick remarked, turning back towards Tess. “Can you believe it?”

“I most certainly can,” Tess replied, her laughter having faded into a small smile. “Be good to your new barnmate, now, or you’ll be hearing from us.” Touching the tip of her tail to Myler’s ear, she added in a not-quite-quiet-enough whisper to him, “If she ever messes with you, let us know. We may not be wild cats, but we’ve still got claws.”

Myler chuckled lightly and shook his head. “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that,” he said, returning to Mapleshade’s side. “But thank you. We should probably be going- this neighborhood won’t explore itself.” With a flick of his tail, he started walking further down the street. “You all have a good day.”

“You too,” Rick called after them as they left.

Once the two were out of earshot, Myler turned his head and said, “I’m sorry- I should’ve warned you ahead of time that they’re the teasing types.” When Mapleshade lifted their head and fixed a stare on him, he smiled. “I don’t think they distrust you, or anything. They just… don’t really meet a lot of cats from the forest.”

“...They didn’t actually _believe_ the story I told, did they?” she replied after a moment, raising a brow.

“No, they didn’t,” he answered. “Or at least, Tess didn’t. I could never tell whether Rick has a sense for these things, but even if he believed you, he’d find it more fascinating than concerning.” Even if he didn’t, Tess would probably clarify for him.

Glancing to the side, Mapleshade halted abruptly, her claws unsheathing. Myler turned his head to follow her gaze, and saw the tip of a black-furred tail slip out of sight into an alleyway. “He was watching us,” he heard Mapleshade growl. “What’s his problem?”

“Oh, that’s just Mister Midnight.” Twitching his tail, he glanced back at her. “No one I’ve spoken to is entirely sure what his story is. There’s rumors, of course, but I wouldn’t really know what’s true and what’s not.” He wouldn’t have been surprised if the “former Clan leader” theory was true, but he wasn’t about to bring that up around Mapleshade.

Spying a section of unpainted fence up ahead, Myler started jogging towards it. “Here- the housefolk here just took in a new cat a little while ago,” he said, gesturing for Mapleshade to follow him with his tail. Approaching a smaller hole in the fence and peering through it with one eye, he looked out at the field of grass- finally catching a glimpse of a small brown tabby. “Hazel,” he called out, twitching his ears. “Are you busy?”

Hazel lifted her head from the patch of grass she’d been sniffing, then slowly approached the fence. “Uh, no,” she said, coming to stand on the other side of the fence. “...Nice of you to visit. You have a friend with you?”

“Indeed I do.” Backing away from the hole, he gestured between the two mollies. “Mapleshade, Hazel. Hazel, Mapleshade.”

Though the frown on her face was hard to miss, Mapleshade lowered her head in order to peer through the hole. Tilting her head slightly in one direction, then the other, she commented, “...How exactly are we supposed to talk through a wall?”

“Here, hang on,” Hazel replied- a soft clambering of paws echoed through the wood, and suddenly she appeared over the top of the fence. Peering down at them, she added, “Can you hear me from up here?”

Myler glanced over at Mapleshade; when she nodded, he turned his gaze back to Hazel and grinned.

“Right. Okay, uh, welcome to the neighborhood,” Hazel said, hauling herself into a more comfortable perching position. “Mapleshade, you said your name was... you’re staying with Myler?” Another nod appeared to bolster Hazel’s confidence. “Great, awesome. He’s neat. Er, you’re always welcome to come by here, but just be aware- my housefolk also have a puppy.”

This elicited a slight shudder from Mapleshade. “...Good to know,” she said after a moment, regaining a neutral expression. A few more moments of silence passed before she continued, “...The dog isn’t strong enough to pry the hole open?”

Hazel cracked a smile. “No, Penny’s pretty small,” she said, “and this wood is surprisingly strong. Besides, even if she could get out, she’d probably just go down to Raleigh and Elizabeth’s house and bother them.” Myler stifled a laugh. The image of the two being chased by a puppy less than a quarter of their size, whining the entire time, was just a bit funnier to him than it really should have been.

Narrowing her eyes and glancing down at the sidewalk, Mapleshade muttered, “That’s fine, but if any dogs do show up at the barn…”

“They won’t.” Myler gently nudged her with one shoulder. “Besides, most of them aren’t that large. If any of them do come and attack us, one look at you will scare them off.”

“I- _what?”_ she sputtered, looking up with wide eyes. Shaking her head and looking back at him, she continued, “I don’t think you understand how _big_ dogs are.”

“Not Penny- she probably won’t even be as big as me when she’s full grown,” Hazel reassured her, flicking her tail. “And like Myler said, we haven’t seen any dogs around here that are much bigger than you. Plus, most of them are pretty nice, if a bit excitable.”

Mapleshade curled her lip. “By ‘excitable,’ you mean ‘liable to jump on us.’”

“Well, yes, but in a friendly way. They won’t bite or anything, just sniff and maybe lick a few times.” Glancing behind her, Hazel shuddered. “Dog saliva is really gross, but it washes out pretty easily, at least.”

Myler glanced between the two, then whispered to Mapleshade, “If you want to leave, just let me know.” Mapleshade didn’t seem averse to Hazel herself, at least as far as Myler could tell, but this much conversation about dogs seemed a bit overwhelming.

Turning to meet his eyes, Mapleshade heaved a sigh and whispered back, “If I really felt strongly about leaving, I would’ve done it already.”

Myler frowned. _“If she felt strongly,”_ she’d said… that meant she did have a feeling, even if it wasn’t strong. She probably wanted to go. From the tired look in her eyes, she almost definitely wanted nothing more than to go back to the barn, only staying to be polite. Sure, she wasn’t really the type to _be_ polite, but maybe she was trying to do this out of a debt she felt she owed him? She didn’t owe him anything, of course, but-

“Myler? You okay?”

Blinking, Myler realized that Hazel was standing next to Mapleshade, looking at him with worried eyes. “Er, sorry,” he said, his ears flattening back sheepishly. “I got lost in my thoughts. Happens all the time.”

Hazel gave a sigh of relief. “...You both look tired,” she said, twitching her ears. “If you want to get back home, I won’t keep you. Get some rest.”

“Thank you,” Myler replied with a smile, dipping his head. “You have a good day.” With that, he nodded to Mapleshade to follow him, and started walking back towards the barn.

As he walked, listening to Mapleshade’s pawsteps behind him, he let his mind wander. Most of the cats he’d wanted to introduce her to, that they hadn’t already visited, lived further down the road. Perhaps another day, but he got the sense Mapleshade had had enough social interaction for now.

“Hey, Myler!” he heard a voice call from behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a small bicolor cat saunter out from behind a tree.

“Oh, hey, Romeo,” Myler said, with a full smile despite his growing weariness. Romeo’s appearance was a pleasant surprise, though the morning had already been long. Continuing to walk, he added, “We’re just on our way back to the barn.”

Romeo nodded eagerly. “Nice, nice.” Glancing at Mapleshade, he stared with wide eyes. “Are you… are you what I think you are?”

“I don’t speak vague,” Mapleshade muttered, “you’re going to have to be more specific.”

His ears pinned back against his skull as he murmured, “You’re a Clan cat, aren’t you?” More loudly, he said, “I’ve heard stories about them. One cat told me his owner was kidnapped by them, and they ate her alive!”

A slight smile tugged at Mapleshade’s maw. “It’s true, I was there,” she said, staring straight ahead. “She screeched louder than any beast I’ve ever heard.” Her smile disappeared as she lowered her head. “...But I’m not part of that life anymore.”

Seemingly oblivious to the sad tone of her statement, Romeo glanced at Myler with even wider eyes, then said, “Well, that’s good. As long as you won’t eat my housefolk, I think we’ll get along great.”

“I won’t.” Quirking a brow, she added, “Twolegs taste bad anyway.”

Recoiling with a look of disturbed fright on his face, Romeo backed away slowly. “Well, I’m out of here. Later, Myler and, uh… the other cat!” he yelped, turning and running off.

Raising a brow, Myler glanced at Mapleshade. “...Was that really necessary?”

“No, but it made the experience more tolerable,” she said, “and it’ll teach him not to poke his nose where it doesn’t belong.” Glancing back at him, she remarked, “...Besides, it didn’t bother you when I regaled your other friends.”

“Well, it’s just… it’s one thing to tell Rick and Tess a wildly false story, since nothing really fazes them,” he said, “but Romeo actually believed everything you said. He scares easily, you know?”

She scoffed, her expression souring. Lowly, she muttered, “He doesn’t know what true fear feels like.”

The thought came into Myler’s head to offer a comparison between a cat’s housefolk and a cat’s family members, but after pondering it for a few moments, he shook his head. He couldn’t be certain it wouldn’t cause Mapleshade to freeze up again, and he wasn’t willing to take the risk. Humming softly as he wondered, he glanced up at the skies- clear, and very sunny. Some cats were too used to the darkness to find bright sunlight comforting, and sometimes he wasn’t in the mood for it either, but today…

...maybe that was it. “Well, his tolerance for fear is a lot lower,” he said finally, twitching his tail. “It takes less to scare him, but I don’t think that makes his fear any less real.”

Mapleshade offered no response, instead looking forwards with a stoic expression. Maybe she was thinking about it, or maybe she just wanted to get back to the barn. If nothing else, at least she had seemed to tolerate all of them, and he suspected she would have been more upbeat had this day started normally.

Still, she hadn’t been particularly enthralled by the neighborhood; perhaps an area with less “Twoleg” influence would do the trick. “Would you like to see the grove?” Myler suggested, glancing in the direction of the trees. “It’s nice and calm, not too many visitors.”

Mapleshade followed his gaze, and he could see a small spark of an emotion he couldn’t quite identify in her eyes. “...Sure.”

Stepping off of the sidewalk and onto the grass, they headed for the woods. As they delved into the grove, the trees stretching up to the skies around them, Myler let his eyes wander. The grass was just beginning to turn from autumn’s onset, the leaves above fading from a lush green into bright yellow and warm orange. The flowers still sprung out from bushes and up from the ground in clusters, adding splashes of purple, pink, and white to the scenery around them.

Near the center of the clearing, he could see a small brown stalk; raising a brow, he padded over to it and examined it more closely. He wasn’t especially well-versed in trees, but it appeared to be a tree shoot, judging by the brown buds sticking out near the top. Hopefully it would grow as large as the surrounding trees; certainly, he had a lot of lifetime left to wait for it, and watch.

A few moments passed in silence- not quite comfortable, but not unbearable either. Finally, Myler turned to Mapleshade and said, “...You know, I think the neighborhood cats like you already. At least, all the ones we talked to. I can’t comment on the rich cats.”

Mapleshade blinked, her eyes flickering from the tree shoot to Myler. “...Rich cats?” she inquired, furrowing her brows.

“Oh, it’s the type you Clan cats probably think of whenever you think of a ‘kittypet.’” In spite of himself, Myler chuckled. “Having your housefolk brush your fur everyday, give you fresh tuna and soft pillows, and never punish you when you make a mess of things does a lot to a cat’s ego.”

Mapleshade tilted her head slightly. Shaking his head, Myler continued, “I mean, I have nothing against the cats who live with housefolk, but cats like Raleigh and Elizabeth look down on us.” He puffed his chest and lifted one paw, doing his best imitation of Raleigh’s voice. “‘Ruffians,’ they say, sitting on top of whatever drapery they tore up this time, ‘eating such peasants’ food as _kibble.’”_

Turning away and stretching out, he went on in his normal voice, “But they can say what they want. Rick, Tess, and the others are happy with their housefolk. And I’m happy here; I can catch my own food, sleep whenever I want, take care of myself... this is a good life to live.”

Of course, given the chance to lie in the lap of a human again…

...no, that thought was just going to weigh him down. “Anyway,” he said abruptly, craning his neck upwards at the tree branches above. He could spy a dove, its pale gray plumage reflecting the warm light around it, perched on the end of a branch.

Gesturing towards it with his tail, and seeing Mapleshade turn around to look out of the corner of his eye, he remarked, “I’ve never been able to catch one of those. They’re not even afraid of me anymore- I’m not much of a jumper, and they know it.” Shutting his eyes in amusement, he went on, “Why, one time I jumped after a swallow I saw on a low-hanging branch, missed by an entire tail-length.” He opened his eyes and glanced around. “I nearly broke my- er… Mapleshade? Where’d you go?”

As his gaze lifted towards the tree, he saw Mapleshade burst out from the leaves, paws outstretched towards the dove. The dove rapidly ascended into the air with a loud squawk, while she clung to one of the branches, her lip curled in frustration. As he watched, she shook her head and descended from the branch down to the ground, her eyes narrowed.

“You nearly caught it,” Myler remarked, spying a feather stuck between Mapleshade’s claws. “If it hadn’t been for the long morning, I bet you would’ve… wow. Color me impressed, I’ve never gotten _close.”_

She gave a noncommittal grunt and walked back towards the neighborhood. Blinking, he added, “...The barn is on our left.”

She hesitated a moment, then started walking in the correct direction, her strides longer now that she had some idea of where she was going. Jogging to keep up with her, Myler glanced up at her. “You’re quite the climber, if nothing else. I couldn’t even hear you scaling that tree.” Cracking a small smile, he said, “Maybe they should’ve called you ‘Mapletree.’”

Mapleshade turned her head slowly, her eyes narrowed in a squint, her jaw open just wide enough to communicate intense displeasure. His smile faded, and he added, “...If that’s not a good thing to joke about, I won’t do it anymore. I’m sorry, I should’ve-”

“No, it was just a _terrible_ pun,” she interrupted, “and I think you knew it.” Her mouth twitched. “For what it’s worth, it’s not even close to the worst name I’ve heard. Some cat suggested that I be called Maple _adder.”_

Myler chuckled lowly. “That definitely doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily.” Turning his head back towards the barn, he nodded. “...Speaking of other cats. Are there any other cats I need to keep away from the barn, from now on?” Frowning, he went on, “I can guess Ravenwing needs to stay away, but if there are any other cats who might bother you...”

As they went around to the front entrance, Mapleshade was quiet. Finally, she heaved a sigh. “...I’ll think about it.”

“Alright. Just let me know,” he replied, as they stepped into the barn. “Anyway, why don’t you get to your nest. Are you hungry or thirsty at all?”

She shook her head, and proceeded towards the other end of the barn, until she reached her nest. Taking the bundled-up blanket and curling up around it, she said, “Don’t worry about things like that. I can get those myself.”

Myler nodded. “Got it.” Taking a seat next to the barn door, he cast his gaze out over the moors. He might as well keep watch for intruders, while he was out here.

“...Myler?” he heard Mapleshade say after a moment. He looked over his shoulder at her, twitching his ears. She stared back, then continued, “...Thank you.”

He smiled. “You’re welcome.”

As she returned to a sleeping position, he turned back to the moors, and let the warmth of the day sink in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, in last chapter's notes: I've got all the medicine cats figured out, so the next few chapters should be easy!  
> Me, realizing I had to create multiple OCs for this chapter:
> 
> Jesting aside, this was actually a fairly fun chapter to write. A lot of the kittypets and strays introduced in this chapter are based off of cats I've actually encountered in real life, so I had basis for their appearances and to some extent their personalities (though naturally, I wouldn't know how the real-life cats would talk about each other). Plus, Myler's POV is always interesting to write from; there's a lot of extrapolation to be done from what little we see of him in canon.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed, and look forward to the next chapter coming soon... maybe. (Hopefully in less time than it took between last chapter and this chapter.)


End file.
